WHO’S FOOLING WHO ABOUT KING’S JET?

LOBAMBA – Members of Parliament (MPs) were yesterday reminded of Double You’s song lyrics ‘who’s fooling who’ when two Cabinet ministers gave different versions about the whereabouts of the King’s jet.

Last week, Minister of Public Works and Transport Lindiwe Dlamini told MPs that because of the financial situation in the country, the King had decided to use the Siyinqaba Aircraft, which had been controversially detained in Canada.
However, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edgar Hillary revealed yesterday that a different plane had already been secured by government save for the fact that it was still being refurbished in order to suit someone of the King’s stature and in the meantime, he had agreed to use Siyinqaba which he had used for his trip to India.

The new version of another plane being on its way came after MPs had asked the Foreign Affairs minister what had happened to the E296 million which had been allocated during the 2016-2017 financial year to the same ministry for the purchase of the State aircraft which had been approved by Parliament following the controversy that surrounded the Siyinqaba plane.
In fact, the MPs put it clear yesterday that they were personally not comfortable with the head of State using the Siyinqaba aircraft.

Sandleni MP James Simelane said he had serious reservations about Siyinqaba because of the threats that had been made by former Salgaocar Director Shanmuga Rethenam when the plane was detained.
In vernacular he said: “Sinesibibitfwane ngalendiza ngoba kukhona indvodza beyidlongota Bukhosi.”

Simelane said Cabinet had forwarded many reasons why the King could not use Siyinqaba, citing that it was not safe for long distance travel as it had to make many stops: “We approved of the purchase of another plane because we were informed that a big one could even travel for many hours without stopping and he (King) could have taken it to India, but we just have no idea where this plane is because suddenly there is no allocation in this year’s budget estimates,” said MP Simelane.

He said the people who were fighting with the King could have planted a bomb in the aircraft and said it would rather be used by them instead of the King to keep him out of harm’s way.
He said firstly, they had not mandated the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to purchase the plane, which was why the allocation had been direction to Foreign Affairs.

Nkwene MP Sikhumbuzo Dlamini said the reason they had allocated the money for the plane to Foreign Affairs was because they wanted the whole process to be transparent. 

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